A different hike to Monument peak

We have been to Monument peak once in 2022!

That was our first experience sharing trails with cows that would just not move!

We also visited parts of this trail to just see the wild flowers.. but did not go to the peak on that day. Multiple folks ended up with nosebleeds thanks to all the allergens on that trip!

We made our second trip to the top today. Except this time we decided to take the steep hike for the last 0.2 miles to the peak directly instead of going an extra mile around the peak to reach the top! That made it really interesting.

There were no allergens this time. It was a barren trail. It was cool but the sun was in our face and I did get sunburnt. And yes, we had to step outside the trail a few times to avoid cows and the calves.

some photos of this hike.

this cutie posed for me when we walked past.. while the mom was calling for it to just come to her!

We were admiring the way these tall anternna towers were anchored on three sides.. 

A highlights video of the hike..

Thoroughly enjoyed the hike today even though at one point it was incredibly difficult. We made the 10.3 mile hike close to 4 1/2 hours because there were no breaks till we got to the top. Every now and then we stopped for a minute tops to sip water or take a photo and kept moving. There was one 20 minute break at the top for Chai and biscuts and a photo session. 

This turns out to be a great time to hike here. There are no snow covered peaks in the background but the fog and clouds and the layers of mountains with a clear view of the valley make for some amazging views. Felt great at the top!

Something tells me we might hike this again.. 

A day in Monterey

In what seems to be ages ago, San and me did a day trip to Monterey earlier this year.. this was between the India trip and our anniversary trip! 

It was a trip to go hiking with our jigiri dost's from morning to evening. Given our kids were not home, we drove early in the morning to meet them and started hiking.

It was cold and foggy as we made our way along the trail to see the coast line. 

Amazing views, lot of birds, deer, (some insects buzzing about) and seals in a cove with their little ones! Lot of work wtih the macro option as well ..

slide show of landscape photos..

and the rest of the highlight photos

 

We then went back to their place to have lunch. Had chai and then went back for another hike down to the beach! 

It was almost a private beach that day. Enjoyed that walk long the beach and drove back to bay area. 

It was a ton of fun and there were 200 photos and many video clips from that day..

Here is a video highlight

It deserved a blog post! 

We really enjoyed that day and still remember it! it was San's way of prepping me for traveling alone with her again and still have fun. 

It was a long drive in bad traffic on the way back. We realized there was no way we will make it home by dinner time.. so we stopped on the way at an Indian restaurant (my first time there). The food was good! 

Still have 2000+ pictures from that anniversary trip to Europe. It will take 2 years to write blog posts on that.. if my memory doesn't fade..

A time to reflect

Previous post in this series on our Grand Canyon hike is here..

Hiking is always a time to reflect

On this hike, it was literally and figuratively just that!

There were puddles everywhere from the rain and snow.

While the puddles slowed us down, they were showing me reflections at glancing angles as we walked down. So decided to put the iPhone upside down with the phone almost touching the water surface to take a few photos.. 

you be the judge..

and a photo of the serial puddles..

Photos of me taking those photos, thanks to my fellow hikers!

it was fun to stop and do frequent sit ups for these photos.. but the last five miles saw only two such photos. It was incredibly difficult to even sit down and stand up. 

There is still one more post to wrap up this trip!